Do movies overhype the four years of your educational life? Is the movie “10 Things I Hate About You” a good description of High School? Or an overdramatized version of a life that isn’t real. This” 10 Things I Hate About You” movie review will answer these questions
Overview
“10 Things I Hate About You” is a movie about the romantic High School experience. It is a story about a misunderstood girl and a grunge guy who fall in love after a series of events unfold. Released in 1999, the movie grossed $53.7 million. Touchstone Pictures and Mad Chance produced it. The film overall received positive reviews and helped launch the careers of several teen actors. Those actors were Julia Stiles, Heath Ledger, and Joseph Gordon-Levitt. Not only did the film provide breakout roles for these actors, but it also got them nominated for several teen awards. Such as the Teen Choice Awards, Young Artist Awards, and MTV Movie + TV Awards.
Movie Summary
The movie follows a girl named Kat Stratford who is the definition of boy-repellent. Her little sister Bianca Stratford on the other hand is a social butterfly. Both girls live with their worrisome father Walter Stratford who has very strict tendencies. Along comes the new kid on the block, Cameron James who gets taken under the wing of the High School Nerd, Michael Eckman. Cameron grows an infatuation with Bianca the first time he sees her. When the popular boy in school Joey Donner takes an interest in Bianca. Walter becomes mad and makes the rule that “Bianca can date when she (Kat) does.” From there the madness unwinds as both boys try to set up a plan to get Biancas’ hand with the help of the mysterious boy in school, Patrick Verona. The Movies Theme is about identity and finding your true self. Along with the complex issues that relationships can bring.
Critiques: Realistic Plot?
“10 Things I Hate About You” does not portray an accurate portrayal of high school at least in today’s world. No one is bursting into someone’s house starting a huge party, No one is breaking out into song on the field, and no one is spreading party fliers in school. However, it does show a good example of how rumors can break a person and change them. As well as how you shouldn’t listen to rumors about a person you don’t know. That part is very accurate in the high school setting universally. Not sure if people would throw fliers around a school to announce a party, today though. The reality of being the new kid, having an over-protective parent and trying to navigate the teenage dating world are all relatable and realistic.
Critiques: Casting
The acting in the movie however was spot on with amazing performances from Heath Ledger and Julia Stiles, they captured the role of their character and brought it to life. According to IMDb, “Ledger beat out Josh Hartnett and Ashton Kutcher ” for the character of Patrick Verona, which was his first American role. As noted on Mental Floss, David Krumholtz, the actor who played Michael Eckman in the movie, attributes the film’s success to the cast’s genuine chemistry.
Critiques: Soundtrack
The soundtrack was Alternative Indie Rock, which happens to be my favorite genre of music. I downloaded the soundtrack the first time I watched the movie. Songs on the soundtrack include “I Want You to Want Me” by Letters to Cleo, “I know” by Save Ferris, “F.N.T” by Semisonic and “Your Winter” by Sister Hazel.
Ratings
There were derogatory terms in the movie but there were no sex scenes. The rating for the movie is PG13 which is appropriate since there are drug and alcohol related scenes.
Reaction
“10 Things I Hate About You” brought out many emotions throughout the film, it genuinely is a comfort, feel-good movie. Overall, I understood this movie was a fantasy about high school, but yet I loved every minute watching it. I feel every young person should watch this movie when they’re sad or happy. You’ll feel for every character in the movie, Ledgers’ character, in the beginning, was mysterious and had bad boy behavior. But by the end, he’s a sweet sensitive boy. Same for Stiles’ character, at first, she was standoffish but at the end we realize she was just misunderstood. It is worth the money and the time but is completely unrealistic to real-life high school. Both back then and now.
